Table 4.
Barriers to alcohol treatment among individuals with alcohol use disorders (AUD) with and without depression and anxiety disorder comorbidity who perceived an unmet need for alcohol treatment in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, 2001–02.
|
Barrier to AUD treatment |
Lifetime AUD Only (N=175) Na (%bc) |
Lifetime AUD with comorbid mood and anxiety disorders (N=294) Na (%bc) |
Bivariate Analysis ORc (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financial Barriers | 21 (9.8) | 53 (19.2) | 2.18 (1.08–4.41)* |
| Health insurance didn’t cover | 10 | 21 | |
| Couldn’t afford to pay the bill | 16 | 45 | |
| Structural Barriers | 36 (22.0) | 45 (14.4) | 0.60 (0.32–1.13) |
| Didn’t know where to go | 15 | 22 | |
| Didn’t have any way to get there | 5 | 7 | |
| Didn’t have time | 17 | 19 | |
| The hours were inconvenient | 6 | 6 | |
| Can’t speak English very well | 2 | 1 | |
| Couldn’t arrange for child care | 0 | 2 | |
| Had to wait too long to get into a program | 0 | 1 | |
| Attitudinal Barriers (Treatment) | 69 (38.3) | 143 (48.4) | 1.51 (0.92–2.47) |
| Didn’t think anyone could help | 19 | 27 | |
| Was afraid they would put me into the hospital | 6 | 23 | |
| Was afraid of the treatment they would give me | 5 | 23 | |
| Hated answering personal questions | 10 | 36 | |
| Didn’t want to go | 16 | 35 | |
| Stopped drinking on my own | 35 | 78 | |
| Friends or family helped me stop drinking | 5 | 23 | |
| Tried getting help before and it didn’t work | 1 | 0 | |
| Attitudinal Barriers (Disorder) | 108 (69.6) | 211 (72.1) | 1.13 (0.65–1.94) |
| Thought the problem would get better by itself | 55 | 89 | |
| Thought it was something I should be strong enough to handle alone | 62 | 145 | |
| My family thought I should go but I didn’t think it was necessary | 12 | 17 | |
| Wanted to keep drinking or got drunk | 11 | 25 | |
| Didn’t think drinking problem was serious enough | 27 | 64 | |
| Attitudinal Barriers (Stigma) | 28 (17.8) | 66 (22.7) | 1.36 (0.68–2.70) |
| Was too embarrassed to discuss it with anyone | 24 | 54 | |
| Was afraid of what my boss, friends, family, or others would think | 8 | 17 | |
| A member of my family objected | 0 | 2 | |
| Was afraid I would lose my job | 3 | 4 | |
| Other reason | 12 (7.0) | 17 (5.3) | 0.74 (0.24–2.26) |
*
Note:p<0.05
**
p<0.01
***
p<0.001
a
Individuals could report multiple barriers. Therefore, the number of individuals reporting each barrier adds up to more than the total number of individuals reporting barriers in each category.
b
Percentages are only provided for category totals because of low sample sizes for each individual barrier.
c
Percentages and odds ratios are weighted to be representative of the total U.S. population and account for the complex study design.